Reblocking & Restumping in Preston, Reservoir, Kingsbury and Bundoora

Housing in Preston and Reservoir

Preston developed earlier than Reservoir. South of Bell Street, and along the tram routes up High Street and Gilbert Road, there are plenty of Edwardian and inter-war weatherboards and Californian bungalows. North of Bell Street, and especially east of the railway, post-war housing takes over.

Reservoir is mostly post-war. From the late 1940s through the 1960s, large areas were subdivided for private buyers and for the Housing Commission. Kingsbury and the Darebin end of Bundoora followed through the 1960s and 1970s.

Common houses here include:

• Inter-war bungalows in Preston, often with original hardwood stumps.
• 1950s weatherboards across Reservoir, with stumps of varying quality.
• Housing Commission homes in parts of East Reservoir and Reservoir West, some weatherboard, some concrete panel.
• 1960s and 1970s brick veneers in Kingsbury and Bundoora with timber floors on stumps inside.

Basalt clay, flat streets and creeks

Most of Preston west of the Darebin Creek, and almost all of Reservoir, sits on the basalt plains. The land is flat or gently rolling, with heavy reactive clay over basalt. Seasonal movement in this clay is a major reason so many local houses have uneven floors.

The Darebin Creek runs along the eastern edge of Preston and Reservoir. Toward the creek, and around the parklands near Edwardes Lake in Reservoir, the ground can be softer and wetter. Further east in Kingsbury and Bundoora, the land starts to rise toward the Plenty valley and soils become more varied.

Signs we see often here

• Floors dropping in the middle of the house, with the outer walls staying higher.
• Back rooms and sleep-outs added in the 1960s sitting lower than the original house.
• Cracks in brick veneer around windows, combined with uneven internal floors.
• Concrete panel homes showing cracks at panel joints as the footings move.
• Rotten timber stumps under laundries and bathrooms, where water has leaked for years.

Restumping, re-levelling or underpinning?

Houses in Preston and Reservoir vary a lot, so the right fix varies too.

Restumping suits timber-floored houses where the stumps have rotted or dropped. Most inter-war bungalows and post-war weatherboards fall into this group sooner or later.

Re-levelling suits houses where earlier restumping has been done but the floor has moved off the stumps over time. On reactive clay, this is common after twenty or thirty years.

Underpinning suits brick and brick-veneer houses where the outer strip footing has dropped. Brick veneers often need underpinning on one wall and restumping or re-packing inside.

We look at the whole house and give you one scope.

Restump first, renovate second

A lot of Preston and Reservoir owners are planning kitchens, bathrooms or rear extensions. If the house needs restumping, do it before the new work goes in. Lifting a floor after new cabinetry, tiling and plaster are installed risks cracking all three. Restumping first also means the extension builder can tie the new floor into a level, stable existing floor rather than one that is still moving. We are happy to talk timing with your builder or designer.

Buying in Preston or Reservoir

The area is popular with first-home buyers and renovators, and many houses sell with original stumps. If you are buying, a subfloor inspection before auction or before your cooling-off period ends can tell you whether restumping is likely and roughly what scope is involved. That helps you set a budget before you commit.

Permits and council

Both restumping and underpinning require a building permit, issued by a private surveyor. Heritage overlays are less extensive in Reservoir than in southern Darebin, but some Preston streets are covered. We check before starting. Skip bins parked on the street need a Darebin permit, which we apply for.

What happens on the day

The crew sets up props and jacks, works through the house in sections and keeps the floor supported throughout. Spoil from footing holes is removed, and the site is tidied at the end of each day. Once all stumps are in and inspected, the floor is levelled and packed. The surveyor signs off and you receive the paperwork.

Book a free inspection

If you are in Preston, Reservoir, Kingsbury or Bundoora and your floors are uneven or doors are sticking, call us. We will check under the house and explain what is happening.